CSHCN Nutrition Network

The Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) Nutrition Network project is designed to improve the availability of quality, community-based nutrition services for children with special health care needs in Washington State. This objective is achieved through providing on-going training opportunities and resources to registered dietitians (RDs) who provide nutrition services to children with special health care needs.

Registered dietitians have an important role in ensuring families receive the crucial guidance they need to address the nutritional challenges of their children. The CSHCN Nutrition Network strengthens the capacity of RDs to effectively respond to the nutrition needs of families and children with special health care needs.

The CSHCN Nutrition Network activities include two one-day workshops for about 100 network members (RDs) each year for continuing education and information exchange, and an initial training every two years for new members. Network members come from a variety of employment settings including local health departments, community clinics, hospitals, early intervention centers and home health agencies. New members are selected based on pre-defined community needs and demographics.

This project is part of a collaborative effort between the CSHCN Program at the Washington State Department of Health and CHDD. Many network members assist in collecting data for publications regarding nutrition services for children with special health care needs. This collaboration also creates and disseminates publications and other informational materials through the nutrition website.